The Talkative Skies - Qualcomm and American Airlines recently tested use of cell phones on an airplane. They basically acknowledged that the real reason for the ban on cell phones on planes is not because of interference with the plane, but actually because the phoen can jam cellular towers on the ground: "A cell phone signal from thousands of feet above ground can be picked up by dozens of towers, causing them to block or drop calls from other callers." It's reassuring to know that planes probably aren't going to drop out of the sky:

"A study by the Radio Technical Commission eight years ago found that interference is rare and of little consequence. One of the biggest tests of cell phone use on planes occurs on flights every day. It's fairly common knowledge that there are probably no less than five cell phones left on for almost every flight," Sheehan said. "And there are literally thousands of cell phone calls made from the air every day. Every one of them is illegal, but we haven't had any airplane crashes that we know of that are due to cell phone use."

However, it's also annoying to know that the technology isn't going to be put into wide-spread use sooner. Current estimates say it is at least two years away. So while wireless carriers will be able to prevent signals from reaching the ground by placing small cellular base station on an airplane, they'll also be able to charge an arm and a leg for us to use our phones. However, that may not be the worst thing in the world. You never know, you could one day be sitting next to someone who can't stop gabbing on the phone throughout the entire flight.